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Sunday, May 4, 2014

The Puzzle Within the Castro Theater's May 2014 Calendar

The May calendar at the Castro Theater was the quickest one for me to solve.

First there were two instantly recognizable faces.

May 12 - Katharine Hepburn

May 19 - Grace Jones

May 5 - Although I immediately recognized the face, I couldn't place the name of the actor shown on May 5. After searching this blog, I eventually realized it was Tyrone Power.

May 27 - I drew a blank.

I looked up Hepburn on IMDB. I wondered if she and Jones had ever made a film together. They had not. However, I noticed on IMDB that Hepburn was born on May 12, 1907. I quickly confirmed that Jones was born on May 19 and Power on May 5.

Searching for actors born on May 27, the second one listed was Christopher Lee...who turns 92 years old on the 27th. I still can't quite square that image on the calendar with The Wicker Man or Count Dooku but it does approach his appearance in The Man with the Golden Gun. I think the photo is from around the time Lee was playing Dracula in Hammer Horror films.

Each actor was pictured on his or her birthday. On May 21, the Castro is screening Milk (2008). The Castro screens Milk annually on Harvey Milk Day. Actually, Harvey Milk Day is May 22 but the theater is closed that day for a private event. Harvey Milk Day is celebrated on May 22 because was born May 22, 1930.

The clues in the calendar puzzle are pointing to the screening of Milk on May 21 or Harvey Milk Day on May 22.

I solved this puzzle in less than 10 minutes and with much less "internet cheating" than usual.

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As for the films screening in May, my attention was immediately drawn to May 15. On that day, the theater is screening Gus Van Sant's Drugstore Cowboy and Danny Boyle's Trainspotting. I have not seen either film.

Jesse Hawthorne Ficks (who I have at many screenings lately) is showing the original Gone in 60 Seconds (1974) on May 9 as part of Midnites for Maniacs. I didn't know the Cage/Jolie film was a sequel. Interestingly, the 2000 film is titled Gone in Sixty Seconds. Why change 60 to Sixty? The first half of the double feature is Speed. Has Jesse given up midnight screenings? I can't recall the last time, he advertised the theater crawl from the Castro to the Roxie for the final screening of a triple bill. Can you have Midnites for Maniacs without a midnight film?

I have some interest in seeing Fellini Satyricon on May 28. It screens with Barbarella.